Designers the world over are always searching for innovative ways to repair our ecosystems and societies, but what if the solutions lie in the past? In this panel chaired by Crafts magazine’s editor Debika Ray, leading creatives discuss whether heritage craft methods and ancient knowledge can better the precarious state of our planet.
Originally held to coincide with Crafts Council Gallery’s Gaining Ground exhibition and the launch of the May/June 2022 issue of Crafts, the panel features a trio of speakers: basketmaker Annemarie O’Sullivan, who grows 20 varieties of willow near her East Sussex studio, and Daniel Olatunji, founder of the slow fashion menswear label Monad London, which works with artisans using traditional craft techniques across the globe. Finally there’s ceramic artist Jay Mistry, who has been collaborating with potters in Guyana to preserve Indigenous identity through clay.